Trayon Christian, a student at the New York College of Technology, went to Barneys New York in April to purchase a designer belt, Michael Paillo, Christian’s attorney, reported to CNN. When he was paying for the belt, the cashier asked for his I.D. After he presented his debit card, but then Christian paid and left the store with no sign of trouble. It wasn’t until he was outside the store that police stopped him and asked him how he could afford to pay for the belt, apparently accusing him of using a fraudulent card. The police said that they had received a call from Barney’s alerting them of the possible crime. Christian was arrested and interrogated at the police station until authorities determined that his card was valid. The officiers apologized to Christian, but Palillo says: “it wasn’t a sincere ‘sorry,’ more of a matter-of-fact ‘sorry’.” “This is an outrage. He committed no crime,” Palillo added. “He’s a young black male who likes fashion.”
A representative of the department store stated: “After carefully reviewing the incident of last April, it is clear that no employee of Barneys New York was involved in the pursuit of any action with the individual other than the sale. Barneys New York has zero tolerance for any form of discrimination and we stand by our long history in support of all human rights.”
